


Family Is Bliss

by sinistercollyflower



Series: The study of a family [1]
Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Banter, Bets & Wagers, Casmund if you squint, Caspian is fascinated by the Pevensies, Family Dynamics, M/M, for now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:27:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28593249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinistercollyflower/pseuds/sinistercollyflower
Summary: The Pevensies are, from Caspian's (at this point admittedly rather short) observation, a very interesting bunch. Their individual characters are just as interesting as their interpersonal dynamics, he thinks as he watches two of them fight over yet another small matter while the third rolls his eyes and the fourth is nowhere to be found.~Or, how Caspian finds himself in the middle of a family of vivid characters and attempts to navigate his way between them and his soon-to be subjects, starting with observation.
Relationships: Caspian & Edmund Pevensie, Caspian/Edmund Pevensie
Series: The study of a family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095173
Comments: 5
Kudos: 87





	Family Is Bliss

**Author's Note:**

> Aight so here's the deal: I binged the Narnia movies on New Year with friends and fell straight into a rabbit hole for it. I'm playing fast and loose with both book and movie canons, regarding ages, story progression and anything else that may or may not suit me, so just bear with he here, hopefully it makes sense. This ain't beta'd or proofread btw, hmu if anyone finds any unforgivable mistakes or awkward phrasing.  
> I'm hoping to make this into a series going forward, the Pevensies fascinate me(especially Edmund) and so I'm using Caspian as my channel for headcanons and observations(in the process of which I'm headcanoning his own character by proxy), if a little shipping finds its way in there, so sue me lmao

The Pevensies are, from Caspian's (at this point admittedly rather short) observation, a very interesting bunch. Their individual characters are just as interesting as their interpersonal dynamics, he thinks as he watches two of them fight over yet another small matter while the third rolls his eyes and the fourth is nowhere to be found.

Well, "nowhere to be found" is inaccurate, Edmund has told him. Just not being looked for. She's probably off making friends with the Narnians, and trying to wake the trees, whatever that meant, which seemed to be nothing new or a cause for concern with her older siblings. Caspian has never had siblings, neither older, nor younger than himself, but he's under the impression that he'd be more protective had he had the chance. Maybe they just trust the other Narnians implicitly. Or they trust that she can take care of herself. Caspian thinks of that impossibly tiny girl with her equally tiny, but sharp dagger, and wonders. 

He leans down just a tad towards Edmund, who immediately glares at him for it (the Just king seems to be somewhat insecure about his height), smiles apologetically and whispers, "How long do you suppose this will take?" 

Edmund snorts, which is a relief because Caspian took a gamble with that one, but thankfully he seems to be catching on to the younger boy's sense of humour and liking it immensely if he's honest. 

"Hm," Edmund starts, "this one seems to be escalating quickly, and since they know they have an audience, not much longer. But it can last hours. I'm sure they'd both sulk for at least a few after this if they didn't have an army to organise. They still might." He says, matter-fo-fact tone clear and indicating that he's seen one too many of these fights. 

Caspian looks from Edmund to the older Pevensies and wonders at the strange swiftness with which his hero worship has faded for them. Well, almost faded, and for almost all of them. Though he still has no idea how to approach Lucy of all people and Susan is in a league of her own, Peter has proven himself as the pinnacle of "never meet your heroes" and Edmund, peculiarly, has become the most grounded in Caspian's reality out of all of them the moment he told him "Call me Ed". It has served its purpose, insofar that Caspian doesn't treat him like foreign royalty(which he admits he would have done, had Edmund's smile not been so genuine when he said it), but regardless of acknowledging each other as equals, Caspian sticks to his full name for now, out of respect. 

Edmund is right, the high king and queen don't seem to be losing traction, in fact they're gaining it fast, and Caspian turns to Edmund again.

"Should we do something?" He asks, consern creasing his brow. They haven't exactly attracted a crowd, the narnians are much too polite for that, but people are starting to turn as they pass, some slowing down. 

The shorter boy leans back against the tree behind them and huffs a laugh. "Considering I'd gladly bet my torch on you being at least one of the reasons for this little spat, I don't think you would do them much good." He retorts with a very flat look in his eye. 

Caspian sputters, "Me??" 

"Oh don't you worry your pretty little head Caspian," Edmund scoffs, "Peter might be the Magnificent, but seeing as Susan's arguing in your favour, you've got at least two out of four monarchs on your side, so I'd say you're on good footing with our people, all things considered." 

Caspian stares at the silver-tongued king and tries to get over the use of his own given name, noting the curious omittance of the other Pevensie whose favour he seems to have acquired. He wonders if this information he's been given, and this conversation in and of itself, is proof as to who exactly that is. He suddenly feels like he's playing chess, which he's never been particularly good at, so he decides to make a bold move.

"And what of you?" 

King Edmund doesn't falter or move, though he does seem to stare ahead for just a tick too long before turning to Caspian with a raised eyebrow. This serves well to remind the Telmarine Prince that he's speaking to King Edmund the Just, and he loses his nerve, backpedaling quickly. 

"What I mean is, why can't you intervene?"

Edmund seems amused by his mad scramble to salvage the situation, but before he has the chance to say anything, they're interrupted by a snort from somewhere nearby. Caspian leans around Edmund to find Trumpkin sitting a few feet away sharpening his sword. They both stare at the dwarf. Trumpkin stares back. Peter and Susan continue hissing at each other in the background. 

Then Trumpkin points his whetstone at them accusingly, "Hey I was here the whole time, not my fault you two kids are too busy flirting to notice." with that, he gets up in a huff, and leaves. There's a beat of silence after which Edmund starts laughing and Caspian sinks back against their tree with a hand over his eyes, hoping to hide the redness that's creeping over his face. To think that they themselves were being observed just as they're observing the squabbling monarchs, Caspian suspects nobody ever has complete privacy in Narnia. Or maybe that's just how army camps are. That seems a bit more plausible. 

Edmund, who seems to just love Trumpkin's dry remarks, recovers first and jostles Caspian out of his wallowing with a gentle elbow to the ribs. "Come on drama queen, it's not that bad," he says with a bit of a laugh lingering in his voice, "say what, I'll make you a bet. Who do you think will walk away first?" 

Caspian, intrigued, peeks at him with one eye from under his hand. Edmund smirks and nods at his siblings. When Caspian turns his gaze towards them, he can see Peter apparently deep into a monologue while Susan glances around at the increased volume of Narnians suspiciously going about their business in this particular clearing. Susan has always struck him as the more sensible out of the two, so he pretends to give it a bit more thought, then announces his choice.

"I think I'll put my money on your sister." 

Edmund gives him a sideways once-over, then extends a hand to him. "I'll go with Peter then." Caspian doesn't fail to notice that they haven't discussed the stakes of the bet at all, but he doesn't really care if he's honest, so he takes Edmund's hand, and they shake on it. 

Edmund smirks at him, still holding his hand, and before Caspian has time for the dread to set in, he hears Susan's forcefull hiss of "Peter!" cut into the high king's tirade. He turns just in time to see Peter stop dead in his tracks and glance around the clearing as well. Edmund lets go of his hand and holds up three fingers, counting down backwards, "Three, two, one, and…" 

Like clockwork, Peter lets out a frustrated noise and straightens his shoulders in time with Edmund's demonstrative hand gesture, then turns and stalks off. Caspian misses Edmund's triumphant smirk, too busy observing how Susan sends the Narnians scrambling with one look, fixes her skirts and hair, quite without need in his opinion, then turns on her heel and heads in the direction of the archery practice field.

"Ah, family is bliss." Edmund says lightly. 

He pushes away from the tree and starts brushing off the back of his tunic, continuing, "Well, now that I've got you owing me, I would normally have waited for an opportune moment to use it, but that moment happens to be now, since looking for Lucy could take too long. I'll take Peter, you go charm Susan into a better mood, and we're even." He orders with a wink. He then gives Caspian a pat on the shoulder, graces him with a "good luck, my friend," and is gone after his brother.

Caspian stays leaning against the tree for a moment longer, thinking how going after Susan mustn't be such a hardship as to warrant pulling owed favors. Edmund had gone easy on him. He decides that he'll come up with something else to pay off their bet in the meantime, and pushes away from the tree himself, heading in the direction of the archery targets and queen Susan.

**Author's Note:**

> My twt and Tumblr are both @enderham, feel free to hmu so we can ramble abt Narnia!


End file.
